On Second Thought: China Increases Aid to Philippines

China has upped its offer of aid to the typhoon-ravaged Philippines after taking flack for a stingy initial outlay earlier this week.

China is now planning to send a total of 10 million yuan ($1.64 million) in relief supplies, including blankets and tents, according to a report on Thursday in the Global Times, a tabloid published by the Communist Party flagship People’s Daily newspaper.

Reuters

Residents put up a sign asking for help and food after super Typhoon Haiyan battered Tanauan, Leyte in central Philippines November 14, 2013.

Chinese President Xi Jinping also offered “heartfelt sympathies” and “profound condolences” in a telephone call with Philippine leader Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday, according to the newspaper.

“May the Philippine people overcome the disaster and rebuild their homeland at an early date,” Mr. Xi said of Typhoon Haiyan, which has killed at least 2,275 and left more than half a million people displaced.

Beijing was criticized abroad — but praised by some at home — when it offered a modest $100,000 in aid through the state-controlled Red Cross Society of China on Monday.

China and the Philippines are not on friendly terms, due largely to a long-running territorial dispute over portions of the South China Sea.

While seen by some as a lost opportunity to bolster its leadership in the region, Beijing’s initial reluctance to commit to more aid played well among nationalists who argued that public money was better spent fixing China’s own problems.

China Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a daily press briefing on Thursday that Chinese aid could change as needed. “The Chinese people are friendly people, people with sympathy, people who will always help others in time of need,” he said. “An overwhelming majority of Chinese people understands and sympathizes with the suffering of the Philippines.”

The U.S. has pledged $20 million in aid, with the U.S. Marines flying in supplies and drinking water on C-130 transport planes. The United Nations has said it will need $301 million to implement a plan to revive areas hardest hit by the storm in the next six months.

The Global Times was among a handful of state media outlets that called on Beijing to provide more aid earlier this week. “China’s international image is of vital importance to its interests,” the normally nationalist-leaning tabloid said in an editorial on Tuesday. “If it snubs Manila this time, China will suffer great losses.”

[NOTE: This post has been updated to reflect comments from Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang made at a press briefing Thursday afternoon]